I should have known better than to brag about getting so much uninterrupted sleep. It came back to bite me in the butt last night. There’s just too doggone much stuff on my mind, such as what’s going on at work, developing my new online brand, getting rid of so much clutter: both electronic and physical and, of course, my upcoming birthday and doctors appointment, both of which happen this coming Monday! It’s just too much.

OOF! ARGH! (And other, assorted, exasperation sounds.)

I’ll keep you posted on all this fun stuff. I just need to think everything through and keep on keeping on.

It had been a little while since I posted on this site. No surprise there, right. Just as I was about to write a post about an epiphany I had in church this morning, I read about the passing of Marine-turned-actor R. Lee Ermey. I was a big fan of his and am very sad to hear that he passed away today at the age of 74. RIP, Gunny.

Thirty-one years ago, today, I married my soulmate. The fact that we ever even met is a sign of God’s providence. We loved each other in good times and in bad and I have to say that the good times greatly outnumbered the bad.

135 weeks ago, my beloved left this world for eternity. There is not a day that goes by when she is not filling my thoughts. My longing to be with her is great, but I take great comfort in the fact that our separation is only temporary. To paraphrase King David, “She cannot come back to me, but someday I shall go to her.” It is the knowledge of this truth that gives me the strength to get up in the morning and make through just one more day. Life works best when taken one day at a time.

Cindy, my love, I wasn’t always the husband that you deserved, but I’m so grateful that we were together for the time that we had and I cannot wait until we’re together again. I love you and I miss you more than my words can say.

Happy Saturday! Not too much going on here at the Hicks house. The biggest news here is that my little BudBud (a.k.a. Buddy the cat) is sick. The pool little guy has been sneezing up a storm and I mean powerful sneezes. Otherwise, he seems OK. He still likes to play and eat and cuddle. I just wished my baby felt a little bit better.

I woke up this morning and checked my phone like I normally do. This morning, however, brought news that made my heart hurt: Reverend Billy Graham has passed away at the age of 99.

Like many, my life has been personally and profoundly affected by Dr. Graham’s ministry and example. In a world full of charlatans who sell faith on TV for riches, Dr. Graham was the real deal. He lived what he preached and his ultimate goal was preaching the Gospel and winning souls for God’s kingdom.

Today is a very sad day here on Earth because the world is a little more dim, but I’m sure that the celebrations in Heaven are epic.

My heart is still broken for the families and friends of those killed in Wednesday’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida. I can’t even bring myself to watch much of the news; it’s just too disturbing.

“Something needs to be done!” That is an obvious, and true statement and it is one which has been echoed many, many times in recent days. The question is: what?

If you look at social media, you have a strong contingent of fine folks who believe that the United States needs tougher gun laws. Some are even calling for outright gun bans. But, is banning or restricting guns really the answer? I’m serious about this question.

Guns have been a big part of American life since before this country was founded. Yet, these horrible mass shootings are relatively new event, at least with this regularity. What changed? Are guns easier to legally acquire than in times past? I don’t think so.

It’s too easy to just blame mental illness as well. Other nations have mentally ill people without this level of trauma.

I remember being a child in a household where there were many guns kept in an unlocked bedroom closet, yet, neither I nor my siblings, ever even thought about taking one of those weapons and shooting up the school. In our little rural, hunting community, you were likely to find firearms in the vehicles in the school parking lot, yet no one gave it a second thought.

Again I ask, what has changed?

Could it be that we, as a society, have changed in regards to the value we put on life? Have we become so self-important that we no longer can see the value in others?

I don’t have all the answers, but I do know that knee-jerk reactions, like those clouding Facebook and Twitter, aren’t the answer. We need to get to the root cause so that we can solve this terrible problem.

Do I support radical gun control? No. That’s contrary to the Constitution and the very principles our country was founded upon. One thing I do support is paying higher taxes if it means putting trained and vetted, armed guards in our schools to protect our little ones.

No child should have to fear for his or her life just to go to school.

Welcome to my website. Actually, if you found this site, it’s a pretty neat trick. This is the one I don’t intend to promote. It’s just for me to write about stuff that I care about; kind of a way to get things off my chest.

I deal with life best when things are compartmentalized and everything fits nicely into its own little pigeonhole. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work like that often and it causes some of my other websites to run far afield. That’s where this new site comes in. It’s a place where I can write about stuff that doesn’t really belong on any of my other websites.

So, since you’ve found the site, you’re welcome to come in and look around. Of course, this is the first post so there’s not a lot here yet, but there will be soon.

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Please Note

Posts dated prior to the launch date of this blog (February 18, 2018) were moved over from my Christian living website at www.timhicks.com. I think they fit better over here since they are of a more personal nature.